Annenberg to study school discipline

Brown University’s Annenberg Institute for School Reform (AISR) has been awarded a $1-million, two-year grant from The Atlantic Philanthropies to engage community and school-district partners in four major U.S. cities with the goal of addressing school discipline practices and policies that contribute to a disproportionate number of low-income students of color leaving school and entering the criminal justice system – what is commonly called the “school-to-prison pipeline.” Warren Simmons, AISR’s executive director, said: “Racial and other disparities in the use of exclusionary discipline practices such as suspension and expulsion are significant contributing factors to the persistent achievement gaps that sustain a channel of failure. We are grateful to The Atlantic Philanthropies for the opportunity to better understand the impact of exclusionary discipline so that useful and effective interventions can be designed.” The four major urban school districts have not yet been selected, but work on the project has already begun.